Month: October 2015

It’s Halloween next week, which seems to be coming a big and bigger deal in the UK. I actually quite like it, it takes the focus away from starting Christmas in September, and I’m all for celebrating festivals and marking the passing of the year.

In the UK, we do seem to be masters at celebrating festivals through the medium of food. In some ways, I guess this is part of our cultural heritage, in other ways it’s just a retail opportunity with the shops bulging with skull shaped chocolates and cupcakes decorated with cupcakes.

In September, I started 3 years of training to become a Nutritional Therapist. We’ve already started learning about the finer detail of the digestive system. One of the things I found fascinating is the process of digestion, and how our habits can have a really big impact. Continue reading “Habit of the Month – October”

Back in June, I talked a bit about my general approach to domestic goddess-ery, which is somewhat lacking. One of the main problems here is stuff. Have you noticed that stuff exists in it’s very own place in the space-time continuum, whereby it has the ability to expand without being subject to any of the normal laws of physics? Continue reading “Habit of the Month – September”

Possibly one for the ladies…. I’ve had two children. Carrying around 8 or so pounds of baby, plus at least the same again in placentas and fluids and other baby growing related stuff puts a whole lot of pressure on your pelvic floor.

We are encouraged to exercise our pelvic floor muscles during pregnancy, but if I’m honest, the more immediate challenges of remaining within 5 metres of a loo at all times and knowing the location of the nearest outlet stocking Super Noodles probably distracted me from being fully engaged in this particular activity. Continue reading “Habit of the Month – August”

I used to have a pretty flat stomach. I’m not saying that I rocked a six pack, but in the early noughties, I was no stranger to the crop top (it was acceptable then, don’t judge) and I didn’t have to breathe in permanently. Funnily enough, growing babies does nothing for your stomach (particularly at the time, but afterwards as well).

The first time round lulled me into a false sense of security. I didn’t exactly ping back into shape, but after the shock of still looking preggers 2 weeks after the birth, the weight began to come off steadily and about 5 months later, I was almost back to where I was before. Continue reading “Habit of the Month – July”

It would be fair to say that I’m not the world’s tidiest person. As a teenager I could just about pick a path across my bedroom floor, much to my mother’s chagrin. Often were the times that she’d threaten to enter my room with a black sack and chuck out anything not in its rightful place (I’ve still never forgiven her for binning my Snoopy sunglasses). Continue reading “Habit of the Month – June”

Some days I feel totally in the zone and ready for all I want to achieve and other days (or sometimes weeks or months at a time, I can’t be arsed and undo all my hard work in a matter of minutes. Continue reading “Habit of the Month – May”

As I mentioned last month, I’m not very good at sitting still and just being. I’ve got a lot going on at the moment, and whilst I fall asleep quite quickly at night, I often wake in the middle of the night (having a bladder the size of a hazelnut does not help here) and find that my mind is whirring.

I used to find swimming quite meditative, I used to count my lengths and so there wasn’t really much of a chance to think about anything else. Over the past few years, I’ve had less opportunity to swim and so I’ve lost my that brain time. Added to that, there’s a lot more to think about once you’ve had children, so you can see how it’s easy to have a brain that’s constantly overflowing. Continue reading “Habit of the Month – April”

I’ve never been one for sitting around too much (I struggle to sit still at the best of times), but I do have a sedentary, desk based job. I do a fair amount (ok, quite a lot) of exercise, but more often than not, I’m sat at my desk or in meetings the rest of the time, where I really don’t move a lot.

The problem with this is that humans were designed to move around, more or less constantly. Recent studies have found that spending most of our time sitting, be it in front of the TV, behind the wheel of a car or at a desk can significantly increase our chances of cardiac issues, metabolic syndrome and cancer. Not to mention the fact that burning fewer calories can propel us towards being featured as one of those massive tracksuit clad arses waddling along the street that the BBC always use on stories about obesity. Continue reading “Habit of the Month – March”

One of the best things about February is that it isn’t January. By this point in the year, I’ve had enough of winter and am looking forward to the days getting a bit longer and warmer and the promise of spring. It’s still baltic in the mornings though, so February’s habit will be to start each morning with a cup of hot water with lemon.

Now, I keep reading everywhere that this is a good way to start your day. I’m sceptical about the theory of alkaline diets, but there are some interesting health benefits to lemons. They contain vitamins C and B6, potassium and also a number of phytonutrients – plant substances which are thought to have an positive impact on cardiovascular health and cancer. At the very least, it can’t be bad to start the day with some hydration, and frankly warm water with lemon tastes much nicer than warm water. Continue reading “Habit of the Month – February”